Presidency: Jang Asks North To Exercise Patience Till 2019

Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State has asked the North to be patient and wait till 2019 when President Goodluck Jonathan would have completed his second term in office to assume leadership of the country.

The governor, who made the call at a town hall meeting in Pankshin and Mangu local government areas of Plateau on Thursday, also urged northerners to vote for Jonathan and all the Peoples Democratic Party candidates in today’s election.

He also used the occasion of the meeting to take a shot at the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), saying he was removed as head of state by his colleagues in the military because he lacked focus.

“If Buhari did not perform as head of state, he will not do anything as a civilian President and therefore lacks the credentials to represent the North”, he said.

The governor, who decried what he termed skewed distribution of Permanent Voter Cards by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state, said he was optimistic that with the number of PVCs so far distributed, Plateau would deliver 1.8 million votes to Jonathan.

“We need a President that will consolidate on the achievements so far recorded in the power sector, we have the trains moving today and the corruption that had been alarming in the agricultural sector has been tackled. Farmers now get fertilizer without hitches. So, the North should be patient and allow President Jonathan to finish his second tenure in 2019”, he said.

Also speaking at the occasion, a former governor of the state and Senator representing Plateau Central, Chief Joshua Dariye, urged all political stakeholders to vote for Jonathan.

“We should take the Saturday (today) election very seriously because we cannot afford to underrate the opposition”, he said.

The PDP governorship candidate in the state, Senator Gyang Pwajok, said the task of re-electing Jonathan and other PDP candidates was a collective responsibility that must be pursued vigorously.